Doin' the post-snow shimmy

Last week the Vidette’s “Bobbin’ Around with Bob” spoke of the
physical effects imposed on his automobile by the brutal winter. Now
that the big snows are in the rearview mirror for 2014, here’s a big
shout-out and amen to join in with his frustration. My hatchback is
going under the knife this week and I don’t even want to think about the
resulting invoice.

Bob’s big beef was with mobile run-ins and
overs with pot holes. As for myself, I haven’t seen too many potholes on
my routes that weren’t in place last fall. I will say that the entrance
to the parking lot behind 224 E. Main, Ottawa, is a pretty jarring
ride, up and down, as is the alley itself. I don’t know what’s going on
with my car, but I’ll soon find out. It was new to me last spring, so I
sincerely hope it’s nothing terminal. When I bought it, I was looking at
fuel efficiency and something that would be conducive to loading two
pot-bellied pigs for bimonthly veterinary visits. The gas mileage is
good. The hatch opens nice and wide, the rear seat folds down and that
hatch slams closed quickly enough that, once in, the more spry of the
pigs is secured for the ride. Grocery bags can fit snuggling in the
front seat with enough space between produce and snout that I can make
it home with apples and carrots still in the bag.

The problem with
the car is that it sits low to the road. This was not the winter for
that. On more than one occasion I had to get down on my hands and knees
to shovel, kick and punch compacted snow out from beneath the under
carriage just so I could move forward, backward or in any direction at
all. Round about the middle of February I noticed a lot of vehicle
vibration beginning at 30 mph. I figured it was ice packed in the wheel
wells. A trip through the car wash didn’t help much because both wax and
water immediately froze. I drove out of the bay encased in an icy
shell.

Now the snow drifts are gone, replaced by flash floods and
mud, slimy muck on either side of the road that would slickly suck my
little car into an abyss of subsoil if I leave the asphalt. Whatever is
ailing my auto must be corrected since, as of the last snow-related tow
in March, my AAA roadside emergency assistance is maxed out. Here’s
hoping the weather holds until Dec. 31.